A cabaret review such as the current “Féerie” of the Bal du Moulin Rouge, is composed of a troop of about 100 artists, including the 60 “Doriss Girls” recruited from around the world, and uses 1000 costumes with feathers, rhinestones, and sequins.
These artists are true world-class athletes, who must meet extremely rigorous selection criteria concerning their physical capabilities and their ability to follow choreography that stretches these capabilities to the limit.
The entertainment the show provides to the spectators essentially arises from the visual quality of the movements of the artists, and their props, on the stage. The amplitude, rhythm of execution, and synchronization of these movements are crucial to this.
The present description relates to props carried by the artists, generally on their back, by means of a harness placed and fastened in position on the shoulders. This is typically an ensemble of feathers, rhinestones, sequins, and, more recently, electric lights, which are arranged in the form of a fanned peacock tail or similar manner.
Some scenes of the show make use of very bulky and heavy props. The overall dimensions of such props, once fastened in position on the artist, can greatly exceed the height of the artist, and can reach or even extend beyond the span of the artist's outspread arms on the stage. Their weight is usually between 8 and 12 kilograms, including the possible presence of a battery to power integrated lights such as strips of light emitting diodes (LED), neon tubes, or similar.